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Sunday, 11 December 2016

Look away now if you
can't bear the sight of a non-athlete in lycra – I've made my first
foray into activewear! These patterns are both Fehrtrade, the cycling
jersey is the Surf to Summit top with all the cycling additions, and
the pedal pushers are the Duathlon shorts but in capri length (I wish
they went to legging length for when it's this cold though, that's why I'm having to wear long socks in these snaps). This is a two-for-one
kind of post as I couldn't really post about these separately- they
were made to be worn as an outfit. I realise now that these are kind
of the colours for Team GB, but really my motivation for the choices
was to try and match the paintwork on my bike (although I couldn't get the exact grey/blue I needed). Is that really sad? I
hope I don't look too hilarious!

This is by no means
a perfect example of either pattern but I'm pretty proud of them and
I'm already getting good use out of them it. In this chilly weather
my ankles are a bit cold and I'm having to wear one of my uniqlo
heatteach base layers under the jersey, but I'm appreciating the
aerodynamic benefits of this combination. I'm a bit worried I'm
giving my fellow cyclists the wrong impression about the kind of
speed I plan to reach however!

I made the Duathlon
shorts first as they're simpler and were billed as a pretty fast
make. In fact, they probably would have been if I hadn't decided to
add the cycle padding as that was fiddly to get sitting right and my
machine wasn't really enjoying stitching through the foam (which is
bra cup foam, it's OK for a commute). I got a lot of skipped stitches
trying to sew this in. In my desire to get the shorts done I just
zigzagged around the padding for a second pass rather than ripping
out and starting again. It's not the neatest job but I didn't want to
risk any more visibly skipped stitches. I was stitching with a ball
point needle in size 80 I think, so perhaps next time I'd go for a
universal to pierce the foam better, and I think I read somewhere
that a bigger needle might do a more reliable job. Will report back
on my next attempt!

One thing I do
notice with the cycle padding however is that the central crotch seam
can show (sorry to bring that to your attention, but just in case you were planning on making this pattern too it's worth knowing!). Sewing this seam with the overlocker can look a bit thick
when pressed against the foam, and also a little a bit anatomical if
you know what I mean...I think next time I would sew the crotch seam
with my sewing machine rather than the overlocker and trim it right
down in the area to go under the padding to make sure there isn't an
unsightly ridge. Any other tips appreciated! I've only
seen people make these up for running so don't know if anyone else
has experienced this issue?

I also made the
phone pockets encased within the side stripes. They do actually hold
my phone, but given as these are cycling shorts I think it's too
risky that it'd slip out and get smashed, so I wouldn't bother with
this again unless I was making a running version.

These are made in a
size Small which is never where I usually fall on a sizing chart, and
actually if anything they might be a bit loose! I took them in
another 1/8” along both sides of the stripe after having tried them
on with the waistband and hem already done, which is why the stripe
flares out a tiny bit at the calf, as I couldn't be bothered to rip
out and redo my twinstitched hem. The waistband sits nicely but there
is still a bit of wrinkling on the back of the leg and they're a bit
loose at the calf so I on my next pair I'll take out a smidge on the
back leg piece and taper down a bit more for a tighter fit.

The cycling jersey
is the Surf to Summit top. While the pattern recommends making a
basic version with no added extras first to test for fit, I decided
to dive straight in and make a half-zip, back pockets and dipped hem
version just to get a bit more practice at all these new techniques.
Luckily for me the fit is pretty good- I sized Medium at the bust,
grading down to Small for waist and hips. I lowered the armscye by
1/8” with a quick and dirty pass with my overlocker (and should
probably scoop a tad more out next time) and I think I could take
out a smidge in the princess seams at upper bust and narrow down the sleeves for the forearms a bit too, but otherwise
it seems a decent size.

This was not as
quick to sew up as the Duathlon shorts as there were so many new
processes for me, and a lot of things I ended up having to do twice!
The Duathlons I sewed up mostly on my overlocker except for the hems,
but next time I think I might do a first pass with my sewing machine
just to check fit. Having had that
experience I decided to sew up everything on my sewing machine for
the Surf to Summit top and neaten the seams afterwards with the
overlocker.

I used fold over
elastic for the first times for the back pocket and hem of the
jersey- in both cases I think I should have sewn the elastic in a bit
tighter to make it hug the body as it's standing away slightly. It's
less of an issue at the hem, but I'm not sure if the back pockets are
supposed to stand so open!

The real pain to get my head around with
this top though was the half-zip. It went in OK for the zip itself,
but the neck facing/ zip placket piece did cause me some frustration.
For a start, I didn't seem to realise when cutting the corner off the
piece that forms both the placket and the zip facing that this should
separate into two pieces. So when I sewed the zip in the facing was
still attached and flapping about until it came to the neck facing
step and I wondered why the markings to attach to neckline seemed to
be upside down!

Once I'd figured
that out it shouldn't have been too hard, but I managed to mess up my
markings when attaching the facing to the neckline and neglected to
leave a fold hanging over the edge, which in subsequent steps is
supposed to form a protective flap under the zip teeth. As I'd
already trimmed the corners I couldn't work out where this should
have been, so fudged the flap by rolling the fabric a bit (it's a
mess on the inside). My stitching in the ditch to secure the neck
facing also ended up puckering in the inside, and when I tried to
neated up the edges of the zip placket with the overlocker it was a
pain to wrangle and I broke a needle going over the zip teeth.

A lot of this could
easily have been avoided if I hadn't been frustrated about miscutting
the piece in the first place! I do think that there should be some
advice on neatening the inside of the facing and placket edges as
they look unfinished as left by the pattern. Perhaps this is for a
smoother line on the outside, but next time I will overlock the lower
edge of my neck facing before stitching in the ditch (and possibly do
that after forming the zip placket so I can neaten that up at the
same time, if it doesn't mess anything else up...). Anyway it all
came together in the end, messy as it is. Unfortunately the tension
that my wrangling has put on the zip means it does tend to pull tight
against my throat a bit.

I plan to make more
of both patterns, but taking more time over the tricky bits so they
come out right. I rushed these versions through as these are
functional rather than glamorous pieces, but as they'll both get more wear than anything else in my wardrobe combined the next
version deserves to be made with more care. I'm also making the
mens' version for my boyfriend, and one for my dad for Christmas,
both with all the cycling additions, so hopefully the gift versions
look a bit more professional!

This outfit cost me
about £40 to make which is cheaper than it would have been to buy. I've got loads more of the fabric left all in these colours as the
minimum order was a metre of each from UK Fabrics online, so I can
make myself at least one more identical cycling outfit but with
hopefully less grief and a neater result, without spending a penny
more! The fold over elastic, waistband elastic and bra foam padding
that I used for the cycling pad all came from Sewing Chest –
helpfully all the stockists for the specialist materials are on
Fehrtrade's page.

Have you ever made activewear? Any fitting tips very helpful, especially from fellow cyclists!

Thanks Cidell! Yeah it's a pretty strong colour combo (one of colleagues asked me if I was dressed as France, so I guess many nations can lay claim to it!). It's also great to be able to make women's activewear which isn't limited to pink or purple!